Planning your goods and services procurement

• Agency Procurement Services Contact List contains metropolitan Agency representatives
• Regional Procurement Contacts List contains regional Agency representatives

We encourage agencies to contact Finance as early as possible in the planning stages.  

If your agency has a total exemption (Main Roads, Public Transport Authority or Insurance Commission of Western Australia), the requirement to involve Finance does not apply. 

Some simple processes can be completed in a few months, while complex processes with multiple stakeholders can take a number of years from the planning to the contract award stage.

Things that can impact procurement timeframes include: 

• internal approvals – complex procurements will likely need approval from a senior member of your agency 
• procurement plans are needed for procurements over $5 million and must be reviewed by the State Tenders Review Committee 
• Gateway reviews are required at appropriate stages for infrastructure projects valued at $100 million (inc. of GST) and above, ICT projects valued at $10 million (inc. of GST) and above, and other projects identified by the Department of Treasury. Agencies can also request a Gateway review when a project is considered high risk 
• stakeholder engagement - some purchases will need significant consultation with other areas of your agency, government, industry and the wider community 
• times of the year - many businesses close over the Christmas and New Year period and will not be able to respond to a tender 
• staff going on leave - some processes cannot continue without key stakeholders and contributors being present. Make sure you factor in people’s availability when planning your procurement.  
• the procurement strategy - a range of procurement tools are available to formally invite interest and offers from potential suppliers including registering interest, expression of interest, direct negotiation, request for tender. Some of these processes require multiple stages of engagement with industry and may take longer than a single stage process  

It is important to start planning your procurement early to ensure you have enough time to complete the process.
 

Market research and analysis

Market research and analysis will help you understand the market and the capability of your potential suppliers. It will also inform your business case, determine your procurement strategy and your approach to market. 

Stakeholder analysis

Conducting stakeholder analysis is also encouraged. At the start of a procurement process, identify your internal and external stakeholders and confirm how and when you will collaborate with them.  

Consulting stakeholders will help identify current or potential issues with the procurement or service delivery. You can learn from stakeholders’ experiences and use this throughout the process. 

Previous purchases of similar products

You should also review the previous purchases of similar products and/or services to identify any potential problems and solutions. There may have been issues in the past with the scope or cost of the purchase or with the supplier’s ability to deliver. Consult with your colleagues, subject-matter specialists and other in-house experts.

Contract management considerations

Contract management is an integral part of the purchasing cycle and needs to be considered early in the procurement process. Where a purchase will require ongoing management, appropriate contract management and administration tools and support (relative to the value, complexity and risks involved) need to be identified and planned. 

As the person responsible for the contract once awarded, contract managers should have a good understanding of the contract and should be involved in procurement planning where possible. This may include developing reporting and meeting requirements for contractors, key performance indicators, and payment schedules.

The Risk Workbook (available at Goods and services templates) provides practical information and templates on how to identify and manage risks in products and/or services procurement processes and contracts.  

RiskCover automatically provides contractual liability coverage to public authorities. This does not apply when:  

• the public authority waives or limits its right of recovery (i.e. agrees to cap liability) or indemnifies another party 
• the indemnity, liability and/or insurance clauses in the Department of Finance Request templates and General Conditions of Contract (available at Goods and services templates) have been varied or departed from
• the contract establishes a joint venture or partnership, with the State being one party of the joint venture or partnership, in which case the cover is voided

You should notify RiskCover if any of the above situations arise so they can evaluate the cover or when you need further information. 
 

For more information refer to the Sustainable Procurement publication, available at Goods and services procurement practice resources.

You can encourage suppliers in the region to respond to your procurement by:

• for contracts covering multiple regions, consider allowing respondents to submit an offer to provide goods or services for individual regions
• incorporating the requirements of the WAIPS (for procurements over the WAIPS values) and the Buy Local Policy
• catering for suppliers in the regions when arranging briefings, for example by providing the option to participate via video conferencing
• considering any aspects of your Request or quote that might be difficult for a regional supplier to achieve, whether they are necessary or could be made more open
• if you are inviting suppliers to submit quotes, consider inviting regional suppliers particularly where the contract is in a regional area

Business case

You should consider developing a business case when a purchase is likely to be high-risk, high-value or of a unique nature.

Some agencies develop a business case when procuring over a certain value so check with your agency’s procurement team or intranet for more information.  

The business case defines the scope of the purchase, develops the implementation strategy and ensures that the option selected will meet the agency’s requirements. 

When developing the business case, you should consider the following:  

• identify and appraise options 
• are the options affordable? 
• develop program or project brief 
• develop the procurement strategy and process to ensure a viable outcome (contract) can be achieved 
• obtain an endorsement from the appropriate people within your agency

View a standard business case template at Goods and services templates.

Procurement plan

A procurement plan is a comprehensive document that outlines the stages in the procurement and how they will be managed and should build upon the business case. 

Procurement plans for purchases with an estimated total value of $5 million (inc. GST) or more must be referred to the State Tender Review Committee for approval, unless the Accountable Authority decides that the plan would be of no benefit due to the nature of that procurement. .  

Purchases exceeding $5 million from a Common Use Arrangement also require a procurement plan, unless the relevant Buyers’ Guide states otherwise. 

The Procurement Plan covers: 

• a summary of the proposed procurement 
• a description of the current contract arrangements 
• proposed procurement timetable 
• s risk analysis 
• the Buy Local Policy and the Western Australian Industry Participation Strategy 
• procurement research 
• the procurement methodology and strategy 
• contract management

Finance has developed a standard procurement plan template which you can access at Goods and services templates.  Agencies planning a purchase should refer to the template for a complete list of requirements.